No Matter What
by Fairytaila
Summary: At the age of 10, Lucy was blinded after an acident on the road. Many years later, she finally moves away to collage and meets some new and old faces
1. Prologue

Lucy:

My mother stood up straight and wrapped her arm around my father, "Aw, you look gorgeous Lucy, doesn't she dear?" She nudged him slightly, "Definitely, happy birthday Lucy." He spoke down at me. I stumbled over to the mirror, almost tripping over and looked. I wore pink, sparkly high heels; a long, pink, silky dress; white gloves; a beautiful white tiara; and to top it all off- a huge '10' birthday badge. I grinned at my self in the mirror. Every year before now, I'd have to sit through a boring dinner, or dull party; but this year was different. I got to do what ever I wanted, and I was going to go paint balling with my friends: Lisanna, Mira, Wendy, Gray, Elf-man and Natsu. I got to see little of Natsu and his friends because my parents didn't let me go out much, but I saw Mira and Lisanna a lot because they were my cousins and were often there as their parents took care of me when my parents were out of town. "Lucy dear?" My mother called me. I ran over, tripping over my long dress in the process. My father picked me up and smiled, "Family picture time." He whispered with a smile. I sat me down on a large chair and the two of them stood behind, posing. I looked to the butler holding the camera and smiled.

I jumped behind a tree. Damn, paint-balling is tiring. There was a rustle of leaves from my left and I turned my head over my shoulder. I held up my gun in preparation at the person in the bush. "Come out of the cover, drop your weapon and put your hands where I can see them!" I commanded to them. They slowly moved out of the bush and lowered their gun to my feet. "Who are you?" I seriously interrogated. He took off his helmet and ran his fingers through his spiky, pink hair with a grin. "Natsu, you thought you could sneak up on me?" "Well.." he was cut off by a rustle from behind me. We both turned to it, deadly silent, and back to each other, "Team up?" he proposed. I nodded with a smile and kicked up his gun. He caught it with ease and pulled on his helmet, getting ready to attack. We ran out from behind, completely destroying Elfman. He tutted and took off his helmet, "That's not fair." he whined like a child as we high fived in glee. "One down, four more to go." I cheered.

I finally finished getting ready and walked outside, into the bitter cold, where everyone else stood waiting. They pulled scarves, gloves hats and coats on to combat the wind and rolled their eyes at the sight of me, "Finally done Luce?" Natsu complained, tightening his checkered scarf around his neck. "Hey, I'm not used to getting ready quickly. I'm always prepared so never have to be quick in getting changed." I mocked him. He chuckled, "Clearly not today, you've got barely anything on, here." He stated, pulling off his scarf and handing it over. I smiled and wrapped it around my neck, it was so warm from having it around him. He grinned, "Better?" I nodded gratefully. We set off walking down the road. I had my hands in my pockets trying to warm up, slightly hunched over and shuffling along the sidewalk slowly. Everyone else was the same except Natsu: he had his hands in his pockets casually, his head high, walking at a normal pace. I frowned at him, why isn't he cold? He looked to me and I realized I had been staring at him. He chuckled and jumped to my side, wrapping him arm around my shoulder. "Isn't giving you my scarf enough?" I shock my head, "It's just so cold." I mumbled, snuggling into his side as we walked. He was so warm, not just compared to the weather, but in general. He stopped suddenly and I almost fell over as I wasn't watching. I looked around and Gray waved at us, shuffling away into his garden and into his house. I waved back, quite delayed from the shock, and smiled.

We continued walking through town, Elf-man, Mira and Lisanna going into their home, leaving just Natsu, Wendy and I. The sky seemed to darken, with grey clouds slowly drifting over. "Do you want me to walk you to your house?" He asked suddenly. I thought for a moment, I didn't want to be a burden, but he was so warm. I shock my head, "No. It'll be okay." I responded. He nodded, "Thanks for this Lucy, it was really fun." He said with a smiled. I smiled back, feeling my cheeks burn up a bit. "Not problem." I mumbled back. "That's easy for you to say, I'll have bruises for weeks." Wendy sarcastically grumbled. I stepped back to look at the two of them, "This was great, see you soon?" I asked, hopefully. They nodded, "When school starts again." I nodded, walking away and onto the sidewalk up the hill.

The door opened and I was immediately greeted with the heat of indoors. I took off my coat and scarf and paused for a second, turning back to it. I forgot to give Natsu his scarf back. I reached out for them again, getting ready for outside again. There was a shout from another room, "Lucy dear, is that you? Your father and I would like to speak to you." I sighed, I'll just give him it back at school. I made my way into the lounge, where my parents sat, waiting for me. I ran over and hugged them both. "You're so cold, is it that cold outside?" my mother complained. I nodded. "Well, I hope you had I nice time." He father commented, "Because we have a surprise." I sat down, looking across to them in anticipation. My mother started, "Well... your father was offered a business opportunity in another state. I know this is a little sudden but.." I cut her off, trying to not be disrespectful, "But I'm finally old enough to make more friends and do more things my self. I can't leave my friends." I confessed, feeling tears run down my cheeks. The two of them stood up, my mother in a distressed way, wanting to comfort me, but my father had no remorse on his face: He looked fed up, "There's no use crying over it, we are moving and you'll have to live with that Lucy. It's part of life." He spoke with no pity. My mother reached out to me, but I stood up, running out of the room. I was about to run to my room, when I saw the butler come down the stairs, holding a pile of boxes. I turned away, wiping my face with my hands, rushing outside. If not for my mood, I would have immediately regretted it. Not only was it freezing cold, but it was pouring with rain. I ran out the garden and onto the sidewalk when the door, that I had slammed, opened. The two of them stood at the door. My mother, with no hesitation, ran out in the rain, almost tripping on her long dress. She carefully rested a hand on my shoulder and my anger began to dissipate. "Come on dear, come back inside." I turned to her with a sad face, my tears merging with the rain falling on my face. I looked down, feeling bad for my little tantrum, and hugged my mother. She hugged back and I could feel her shake, partly from the cold, but partly from her crying. The sound of the rain hitting the road being the only noise... except of tires screeching. Both of us looked up to the last thing either of us would ever see: a truck bumper.


	2. Chapter 1

Lucy:

The taxi finally came to a jolted halt. The door was opened for me and I stepped out onto the solid ground. The air felt fresh and warm: lovely weather. There was a clatter of boxes as the driver must have started unloading all of my things. There was the sound of a particularly heavy sounding person walking up to me and speaking in a happy, albeit, over enthusiastic voice, "Hello, my name is Stacy and I'll be showing you around. What's your name?" She asked. I extended my hand and felt a firm hand shake it, "Lucy. Lucy Heartfillia." There was a pause before an exclamation. "I'll be back in a moment, wait here." She politely spoke before walking away. I leaned back onto the cab and almost had a heart attack as there was a scratch on the window from behind me. I opened the door and there was a small patter of claws and I felt something hit off my leg repetitively. I leaned over slightly and stroked my guide dog-Luna. Of course I'd never seen her, but from the compliments we get walking in the park: she was a beautiful, white retriever.

Stacy came back, accompanied by a must lighter and smaller sounding person. "Lucy, this is Levy. She lives next to you and will help you with anything you need." I reached out again and a petite, delicate hand shook it back. There was an inaudible whisper from Stacy and Levy let out a long, understanding "Oh." I smiled, "Okay, I'll show you to your room." She said, and Luna pulled on the lead rope, so I followed behind.

"Ok, so your room is pretty standard. Its a small room with a bed to your right, a large wardrobe at the end of that, a big window ahead and a wooden desk with shelves above it." She described for me. I nodded, very carefully making my way to the bed and sitting on it. I could feel Luna jump and lay beside me, her head resting on my lap. "Thank you." I gratefully said. "I'll be right back with your stuff, the door is open, so be vigilante that someone might come in." I nodded and leaned against the wall, stroking Luna, who's head was heavy on my lap, suggesting she might be asleep. There was a moment of just background noise: the distant sound of chatter, faint mixtures of music, both our breaths and birds outside my window.

There was a loud knock, but they didn't enter the room, "Hey, I'm Cana. I'm down the hall in 2b. We're all going out tonight for a drink, wanna come?" I thought for a second, I'd love to meet some new people, but I didn't want to be an inconvenience. "Cute dog by the way, how come you're allowed one, I thought..." She trailed off and for a moment, "I'm so sorry, I didn't realize. I feel so.. " I shook my head, "It's OK, happens all the time. Does.." I suddenly felt a little but nervous. "Does the offer still stand?" I mumbled, scared of the answer. "Of course." She replied cheerfully, "Why wouldn't it." I smiled, relieved, "I'd love to come." The door creaked open slightly and two grunts, accompanied by sighs made me conclude that Levy was back, but with another person. "Lucy, you're stuff just here. Erza came and helped me." I nodded, leaning over Luna carefully to shake her hand. Her handshake was firm and confident. I was always told by my father that your could tell a lot by a person's handshake, which is useful. "Who's this?" Erza said. There was a moment's silence before I answered to make sure she wasn't talking to someone else, "This is Luna." I said, pointing at her. "She's so pretty." I could feel someone's body heat as they clearly leaned over to stroke her. She moved back and Levy spoke again, "Do you want help unpacking?" I nodded and leaned forward to help. A small hand pushed me back down by my shoulder, "You can sit. We'll just do it." I nodded, a little guilty that they were doing all the work but I sat back and relaxed.

There were several moments of scuffling before anyone spoke, it was Erza: "Why do you have so many books?" I shrugged, "They were my mother's and I know my father would throw them out if I left them there." "So your mom is.." I nodded. "Well that's depressing." Levy mumbled from my right. "Well, my mother would read them to me before. But then my nanny would to help me sleep, especially to calm me down before bed. I would have nightmares you see and it helped having a story before." There was an uncomfortable silence. "Lucy, what are you doing? Ranting your life story to three strangers." I mumbled to myself. "I hope we're not three strangers to you, you're not a stranger to me. I know we've only just met but.." Levy muttered, embarrassment in her voice.

The noises of them unpacking continued for quite some time, until finally, they collectively sighed. "It was great meeting you all, but I'm going to talk to some other people." Cana said, walking out of the room. "Same, it was fun and thanks for giving me something to do for a while, I was honestly so bored." Erza said, following her out. There was the sound of Levy standing up and slowly walking around, most likely checking out the room. "You have some really good books here: To kill a mockingbird; The book thief; Harry Potter; Great expectations! Do you mind if I read one?" She said, getting really excited by it, being cautious to ask. I nodded and she took out one and sat down on the chair, carefully turning the pages. A second passed and Lucy frowned, "Could you read it aloud for me?" There was a small chuckle and she turned the page, "It's just a small story, really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, a Jewish fist fighter, and quite a lot of thievery."

"Chapter 26, a..." Levy was interrupted by Erza's voice. "I thought you two were coming with us." "Oh yeah, what time is it?" I asked. "Um... quarter past seven." I nodded, standing up. Luna jumped off the bed and stood next to my leg, breathing on the back of my knee. "What should I wear?" I asked, walking slowly over to the wardrobe and opening it. I moved the hangers around, feeling each piece of clothing so I could remember what it was. "What's this?" Levy asked, picking something up, "Well, I cant really answer that." I said in a matter of fact tone. She chuckled slightly, "It's a checkered scarf." I reached out and took it from her hand, "It's the scarf of a friend I had as a child. We were really good friends before I moved away." I said, remembering it solemnly. "Do you want to wear it?" Erza asked. I shook my head, "I don't want to ruin it or lose it or anything like that." I mumbled. "Well what if you.." She said, taking it off and wrapping it round my waist and tying it, stepping back. "I like it." Erza said. "Especially with that skirt, you suit it." I smiled, my cheeks heating up. "What about my top?" I said, forwarding the conversation. There was a collective hum of thinking before one started looking through the wardrobe. "How about this?" Erza spoke to Levy. "Yeah, that was easy." I took the hanger and on it was a very big and baggy t-shirt. The two of them asked me to put it on, assuring me that they weren't looking and I pulled it on. It was very big, almost longer that my skirt, and I could barely feel it on me for how baggy it was. One reached over and rolled it up, tying it up to reveal my belly. "Much better." Levy muttered. "Ready to go?" Cana said from the door frame. I jumped a bit, wondering how long she had been there for. "Should I bring Luna? Or is she just going to get in the way a bit?" They all thought for a moment, "If you lead her, we'll get a cab and we'll just lead you around." Erza suggested. I nodded. I sat down on the bed, feeling Luna's breath on my leg. I stroked her, "Stay, you can have a night off. I'll see you later." I stood up, walking out and closing the door behind me.

I stepped out of the cab and onto the sidewalk. It sounded like the building in front had loud music playing and I assumed it was where we were going. An arm I guessed was Levy's linked with mine and we walked forward. The music got louder and we slowed down, going through a door and into a hall. Levy turned me, warning there were stairs going up and we walked up, into a room that I guessed was the club as the music was almost deafening. "What do you want to drink?" Erza shouted to me. "I don't really want anything." I shouted back. "I'm going to go and get something to drink with Erza. Is that OK?" I nodded, moving back to lean on the wall, trying to listen to people and what they're talking about. The conversations were difficult to follow because of the music, but I waited and listened for someone to come back.

"Hey pretty." A man spoke to my left. I tensed slightly, hoping that he was speaking to someone else. He didn't talk again for a second so I decided to speak, "Are you talking to me." I mumbled back, just loud enough for him to hear. "Um... yeah. You look great." He spoke, his hands running up and down my arm. I moved my arm and side stepped away, hoping someone would come and help a bit. His voice came back, louder this time like he was whispering in my ear, "Don't be a party pooper doll face." I turned to him, "I hope you're not here to talk me into sleeping with you because that's really not me- regardless of how many drinks I've..." I was then cut off by Levy's voice from behind. "Hey Lucy, what are you talking to this freak for?" She asked, a sense of venom in her voice. I looked down to the ground, fumbling with my finger's nervously. "I didn't, he..." "Lucy?" He mumbled, unsure. I turned back to him, "Yes?" "Lucy!" He said again, this time with more enthusiasm that uncertainty. "I frowned, "Yes?" He leaned and almost knocked me over with a hug. I stood, like a rabbit in headlights, until he let go. "I can't believe it's you. I haven't seen you in eight years..." before he could finish his nostalgia trip, I interrupted. "I don't want to be ruin but, who are you?" "Oh, I guess I do look different, I was hoping you would recognise me." He sounded a bit disappointed. "I'm Gray... Fullbuster." I frowned: the name was familiar, but not easy to recall. I lowered my arms to my sides and my hand brushed against the scarf wrapped around my waist. It was like a wave as it all came back to me: my life then, Natsu, all the other friends I had. I could feel a smile on my face, this felt like destiny. "Gray, I know this is so strange, but it's really good to see you. Or more precisely not." I said, chuckling. "What do you mean?" He said, confused. "She's blind you idiot." Levy interrupted. There was a second where he didn't speak, clearly taken a back a bit. "When did this happen?" He mumbled. "Just before moved away. I don't really want to go through it now but I really want to talk and catch up." "Yeah, but not here." He said. I smiled and nodded, it wasn't just me, "Good thinking. Hey, Levy?" I said, calling to my right somewhere. "Yeah." An annoyed voice called back. "I'm going back, I know I haven't really spent much time. You don't need to come with, I sure Gray can look after me. You can come if you want." She tutted, "I wouldn't if it didn't sound like you know this girl well. I must be nice, I trust him." I nodded, holding out my arm. He wrapped his around it and led me out of the club and onto the street outside.


End file.
